by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: France’s Le Borgne making big difference in Ballinger

Ballinger coach Nathan Riggan spent the summer worrying about who was going to replace three-year starter Matilda Galvan at point guard.

The answer came about a week before school started when he got called down to the front office to meet Ballinger’s new student.

Ysée Le Borgne was a 6-foot-1 foreign exchange sophomore from France. Not only had she played basketball since she was 3 years old, but both her parents played and coached at a high professional level.

“Once she came out on the court that first day and I saw her handling the ball, I said, ‘There’s my point guard,’” Riggan said. “She’s everything for us. She’s our best defender, shooter, she can shoot from outside and she averages 3.4 blocks per game. She’s everything you’d want in a basketball player.”

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Coahoma’s Bulldogettes hungry, poised for another playoff run

Photos contributed by Lyndel Moody of Coahoma ISD

Madi Renteria averages 14.2 points and six rebounds per game.

The Coahoma girls’ basketball team lost just one senior from last year’s 26-5 team that reached the Class 3A Division II regional semifinals.

With a returning cast that includes veterans Madi Renteria, Bree Lewis and Blakely Rodgers – plus the addition of impressive newcomer Addison Schmidt – the Bulldogettes finished the 2025-26 regular season 31-1 and appear poised for another deep postseason run.

“We’re still hungry, and we’re definitely looking forward to the playoffs,” second-year head coach Alyssa Peterson said Friday.

Coahoma, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll, opens the playoffs against Tornillo at 5 p.m. Monday at Monahans. The winner will advance to face the Slaton-Canadian winner in the second round later in the week. Coahoma blanket Tornillo in last year’s bi-district game 78-0 – and that’s not a typo.

The Bulldogettes enter the playoffs having won 27 consecutive games since their only loss – 57-26 to Cisco on Dec. 2. That includes tournament championships at Lubbock Roosevelt, Garden City and Jayton.

The win streak also includes a second consecutive 12-0 run through the District 3-3A schedule.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie holds off Cooper rally to clinch playoff spot, end Cougars’ postseason push

Trailing Cooper by a point in the final minute on Friday, the Wylie boys basketball team closed the game on a 5-0 run to grind out a crucial 51-47 victory at Cougar Gym.

It was the second consecutive road win for the Bulldogs in which they faced a deficit in the closing minutes, clinching a playoff spot for coach Gregg Ruffin’s team while eliminating the Cougars from postseason contention.

Wylie led 33-22 at halftime only to see Cooper snag the momentum — and, eventually, the lead on Jabari Collier-Gard’s 3-pointer with 1:30 to play. But a 5-of-6 tally from the free-throw line and a couple of key stops in the final 43 seconds were enough to earn the Bulldogs the hard-fought victory over their crosstown rival.

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Brock inches closer to District 6-4A boys title

Brock coach Zach Boxell stresses a point to his players during a timeout.

STEPHENVILLE — The Brock Eagles finished Friday’s key District 6-4A boys’ basketball game with a 15-3 run — erasing a six-point deficit, forcing overtime and eventually overcoming the Stephenville Yellow Jackets 58-52 at Gandy Gym.

The win improved Brock’s record to 23-9 overall and 8-1 in District 6-4A. The Eagles will secure the district championship and No. 1 seed for the Class 4A Division II playoffs with a win Tuesday over Mineral Wells, which hasn’t won a district game.

“It’s been a battle,” Brock coach Zach Boxell said of the 6-4A race. His Eagles lost 74-59 to Glen Rose and trailed the Tigers halfway through the district schedule.

“We knew coming in here to Stephenville tonight with a big crowd that it was going to be hard to get a win. Being in a tough district should help prepare us for the playoffs,” Boxell said.

Stephenville lost at home for the first time in 13 games in Gandy Gym this season. Despite Friday’s loss, the Jackets (28-4, 6-3) still secured a Class 4A DI No. 1 seed because Graham (4-5) lost against Glen Rose.

“Our crowd was awesome. I wish we could have gotten a win for them,” said Stephenville coach Drew McDorman, whose Jackets began this week with a 63-37 home win over Glen Rose. “I told the kids that, when you beat good teams, people will show up to see you play.”

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: New play helps Sweetwater clinch playoff berth with road win over Merkel

MERKEL — Sweetwater boys basketball coach Dillon Gainey said he and his staff were sitting in the coaches office on Friday morning trying to draw up a way to steal points off the opening tip for their District 6-3A road game at Merkel.

It’s safe to say that the play they came up with worked better than anyone could have imagined.

Sweetwater’s Amare Arevalo didn’t even make an attempt to win the opening tip, letting Rayson Houston go uncontested for it, but Houston’s tap went directly to a Mustang and turned into a layup just three seconds into the game as the Mustangs led wire-to-wire in a 57-34 decision over the Badgers.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Jayton overcomes determined Roscoe team, noisy crowd to get tough nondistrict road win

Roscoe’s Jace Arnwine looks for an open teammate in the second half of Friday’s game with Jayton with JHS’ Tucker Scott applying defensive pressure.

ROSCOE — With two-time defending Class 1A state champion Jayton coming to town to face 18th-ranked 2A Roscoe, Friday’s non-district boys game was bound to create a special atmosphere. 

And it did just that, as the Jaybirds slipped past the Plowboys 58-54 in front of a raucous crowd at the Roscoe Collegiate Special Events Center.

Colt Gentry scored 21 points, Bode Ham had 13 and Sean Stanaland added 12 more to lead the top-ranked Jaybirds (18-3), who never trailed and maintained a shaky lead from the 4:33 mark of the first quarter until the final horn. 

Roscoe (31-2), which remained within striking distance throughout the game, was led by Jarrell Best with 22 points and Aiden Brown with 18.

Both clubs walked away from the matchup feeling as though they had benefitted from it — especially with postseason play set to start on Feb. 23. 

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Hoops
by Evan Ren

Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Feb. 12): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 12. 

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive. 

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by Evan Ren

FINAL Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders for 2026 (Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks)

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Feb. 12. This will be our FINAL girls stat leaders for 2026.

This database has been continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his or her email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Stephenville sweeps Glen Rose in varsity doubleheader

STEPHENVILLE — With area rival Glen Rose paying them a visit on Tuesday, the Stephenville Honey Bees and Yellow Jackets made the most of the annual occasion by sweeping a varsity doubleheader at Gandy Gymnasium. 

In the case of the Honey Bees (20-12, 5-5) their 30-19 win changed nothing in the way of playoff seeding. SHS remains a No. 2 seed and will face Wolfforth Frenship next week in the bi-district round.  For the Stephenville boys, however, Tuesday’s 63-37 victory kept the Yellow Jackets (28-3, 6-2) in the hunt for a possible District 6-4A title. 

The ‘Jackets will play host to league-leading Brock (22-9, 7-1) on Friday with a chance of grabbing a piece of the district lead. 

The Glen Rose girls fell to 20-16 and 5-5; while its boys team slipped out of a first-place tie with Brock to 20-10 and 6-2. The Tigers, however, can still land in a three-way tie for first in the event of a Stephenville win over Brock.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Carrillo’s late layup lifts Cooper to come-from-behind win in crucial matchup with Wichita Falls Legacy

Jaden Carrillo only had one field goal in the Cooper boys basketball team’s must-win matchup with Wichita Falls Legacy on Tuesday at Cougar Gym. But it was the most important bucket of the game in a dramatic 34-33 win for the Cougars.

With his team trailing by a point after a J’Quan Carroll free throw broke a 33-all tie with just under 17 seconds remaining in the game, the senior guard was given the keys to the offense when play resumed out of a timeout on the Coogs’ final possession. With time ticking down, he drove around and past Legacy’s Jerimiah Smith, going all the way to the rim for a go-head layup with 2.9 seconds to play.

That proved to be the game-winner for Cooper (13-13 overall, 2-4 in district), which rallied from a 27-13 third-quarter deficit to score the victory, pulling within a half-game of Legacy (9-19, 3-4) and Wichita Falls Memorial (14-17, 3-4) for third in District 4-5A and within a game of Wylie (12-13, 3-3) for second.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Stamford boys rally for win over Cisco; Lady Loboes complete undefeated district run

CISCO — With the playoffs being split into Division I and Division II, not all-late season basketball games have the high-stakes feel that they’ve had in the past.

That wasn’t the case on Tuesday night at Ray Saunders Gymnasium, where Stamford visited Cisco for a crucial District 10-2A matchup.

The hosts jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first half but couldn’t hold off a fourth-quarter rally as Stamford all but clinched the district runner-up spot with a 50-44 win.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Comanche senior takes this week’s award

Comanche senior J’Lee Salinas is no stranger to BCP accolades, having already won our Player of the Week award as well as being named to our All-Big Country Preps team. 

Well, she’s done it again after helping Comanche sweep district mates Millsap and Peaster — taking our Player of the Week award for the week ending Feb. 7.

Salinas had a solid week with a double-double in a win against Millsap (83-27), finishing with 24 points,10 rebounds, four assists and six steals.

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by Daniel Youngblood

THIS WEEK IN BOYS BASKETBALL: District title, playoff races continue to take shape as regular season nears its end

The boys basketball regular season is nearing its end, and district championship and playoff pictures across the area are coming into view.

Most leagues now have clear favorites in both their title and playoff races, but several remain unresolved with just two or three games left to play. 

With just a couple of weeks of games remaining, let’s dive in and take a look at this week’s biggest games and last week’s most significant developments.

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by Evan Ren

THIS WEEK IN GIRLS BASKETBALL: A look at the top games for this week and last week

With the regular season concluding this week, we take a final look around the area, both the top games of last week and those coming up. 

Keep an eye out for the postseason pairings for both girls and boys basketball on BigCountryPreps.com — both of which will be posted in the near future. 

Lets dive in, shall we? 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Abilene High boys grind out gutsy win at Wylie to clinch at least share of District 4-5A title

The Abilene High boys basketball team clinched at least a share of its first district championship since 2016 on Friday, grinding out a thrilling 57-52 win over crosstown rival Wylie to improve to 5-1 in District 4-5A play.

The tough road victory, combined with Wichita Falls Legacy’s win over rival Wichita Falls Memorial on Friday, gives the Eagles (18-11 overall) a two-game lead over both of those squads and a 2½-game lead over Wylie with two games remaining.

AHS can claim the title outright — something the Wylie girls did with a 75-10 win over the Lady Eagles in Friday’s early game — with a victory in either of its final two games against Memorial and Cooper.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wall clinches pair of district championships with sweep of Clyde

CLYDE — Friday night marked the first step in a return to normalcy for the Clyde athletic program, which is still reeling from Sunday’s tragedy that took the lives of junior Kyler Dailey and his older sister Brileigh, a 2025 graduate, as the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs hosted Wall for a District 6-3A doubleheader at Bulldog Gym.

On a night where emotions were high and the two schools saw both of their teams come together in prayer in a silent gym between games, it was Wall that headed back south with a pair of district championships.

The Lady Hawks quickly showed why they are the top-ranked team in the state in Class 3A with a 65-17 win to finish an undefeated run through district play, while the Wall boys squad held off a valiant second-half rally by Clyde in a 59-44 win — a game that was much closer than the final score indicated.

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hoops
by Evan Ren

Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Feb. 5): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 12. 

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive. 

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Feb. 5): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Feb. 5. 

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his or her email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

SIGNING DAY: Eight local athletes make college decisions official at ceremonies throughout Abilene

A busy week across the Big Country that began Monday with the University Interscholastic League’s biennial realignment continued Wednesday with National Signing Day ceremonies at all three local high schools.

Abilene High and Cooper each had three football players put pen to paper, joining a fourth at each school who had already made his commitment official. And Wylie, meanwhile, had a pair of athletes sign to compete collegiately — one in football and another in soccer.

In all, eight local boys signed at their respective Signing Day ceremonies, earning celebration from family, friends and their high school coaches. 

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by Evan Ren

SIGNING DAY: Gordon seniors headline area signees for 2025-26

Of all the Big Country area collegiate signees in the 2025-26 school year, what would the odds be for two of them to be from a tiny school from the six-man ranks? And what would the odds be that both would sign to participate in two sports?

What are the odds that they would have the same last name yet be of no relation? And what would the odds be that both would play in the prestigeous Military Appreciation Bowl in Frisco on Dec. 21 (featuring several of the top players in the country)?

Would the planets have to be aligned for both of them to be among the top academic athletes in the Big Country? Or for them both to sign with separate military academies to participate as two-sport athletes at the DI level? 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Age-old rivals Brownwood and Stephenville split varsity doubleheader

STEPHENVILLE — With archrival Brownwood paying Stephenville a visit on Tuesday the storylines in both ends of a varsity doubleheader at Gandy Gym were quite similar: A heavily-favored, district title contender facing a stubborn rival still battling for a playoff spot.

There were few surprises. 

In the opener, the Brownwood girls (ranked eighth by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches) used clutch shooting and steady defense to put Stephenville away, 46-32. The SHS boys returned the favor in the nightcap, taking advantage of Brownwood turnovers and foul trouble to hand the Lions a 79-43 loss.

With the win, the Brownwood girls (27-4, 7-1 District 6-4A) remained within a game of league-leading Brock, which the Lady Lions will meet on Feb. 10.  The Stephenville boys (26-3, 4-2) remained within two games of first-place Glen Rose. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Abilene High boys bounce back with dominant effort against Wichita Falls Legacy

Coming off a rough performance Saturday in a 48-41 loss to crosstown rival Cooper, the Abilene High boys basketball team bounced back in a major way Tuesday, dominating Wichita Falls Legacy from start to finish in a 54-34 win at Eagle Gym.

The Eagles limited the Leopards to just 11 points before halftime, taking a 16-point lead into the break before stretching that advantage to a game-high 25 points early in the fourth quarter.

The dominating effort, which followed a 49-19 Legacy win in the girls game, improved Abilene High to 17-11 on the year and kept the Eagles alone in first place in the District 4-5A standings at 4-1. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tolar sophomore takes this week’s spotlight

With weather postponements forcing Tolar to play three games last week, there was positive in an otherwise hectic week: It gave one of THS’ athletes the opportunity to showcase a remarkable run of consistency. 

Tolar sophomore Atley Kolb takes our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the Week ending Jan. 31, after posting three straight double-doubles in as many days to help the Lady Rattlers in wins over Millsap (57-25), Eastland (59-25) and Breckenridge (74-19).

Kolb posted 10 points and 13 rebounds against Millsap; 21 points and 11 boards against Eastland and 12 points and 10 boards in the Breckenridge win. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

UIL REALIGNMENT: Big changes coming for area hoops, volleyball teams while locals left in familiar five-team district

While football programs see most of the attention for the University Interscholastic League’s biennial realignment focused on them, the big event also has ramifications for volleyball and basketball teams at the same time.

Monday morning, those coaches also learned their fates for the next two years and had a wide range of reactions — from relief to shock to seeing their expectations met.

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by Daniel Youngblood

UIL REALIGNMENT: Local football coaches share stress-free day as districts remain largely unchanged

While area coaches and athletic directors were left scrambling to adjust to the unexpected new districts they were placed in on Monday during the University Interscholastic League’s biennial realignment, the leaders of Abilene’s three largest football programs shared a stress-free day in the Metroplex at the Birdville ISD Fine Arts/Athletic Complex.

Abilene High, Cooper and Wylie saw minimal changes to their football district alignments when those were made public at 9 a.m., as the Eagles remained in District 2-5A Division I with Amarillo High, Amarillo Caprock, Amarillo Tascosa, Frenship Memorial, Lubbock High, Lubbock Monterey and Wolfforth Frenship and the Cougars and Bulldogs stayed in District 2-5A DII with Amarillo Palo Duro, Lubbock Cooper, Lubbock Coronado, Wichita Falls Legacy and Wichita Falls Memorial.

Adding to the largely mundane nature of Monday’s proceedings, the three schools also remained in a five-team District 4-5A for their other sports, staying with the two Wichita Falls schools in an unchanged league.

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by Daniel Youngblood

UIL REALIGNMENT: Area football landscape experiences major changes in biennial district reshuffling

Surprised — and in some cases, stressed out — faces could be seen in abundance Monday morning at Abilene’s Region 14 Education Services Center, where coaches from throughout the area and beyond gathered to learn their new district homes as part of the University Interscholastic League’s biennial realignment.

In what can best be described as a seismic shift in the Big Country football landscape, a majority of area schools were placed in unfamiliar environs — be that a new district with new foes or even a new region entirely.

The now venerated process by which the UIL releases the packet containing the new district alignments for football, basketball and volleyball is frequently compared by coaches to waking up on Christmas morning to find what presents await under the three. And on this day, in particular, few found the gifts they were expecting.

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